Lessons learned in December

There have been a few things happen this month that can teach us some important life lessons.

One lesson was about gossip and how words can hurt. This lesson was found in the Worland third grade performance of the “Reindeer Whisperer,” a musical by Teresa Jennings and Karl Hitzemann. Elves overhear part of a conversation Santa is having and then assume things they did not hear and share that the with the reindeer, specifically that they believed Santa was going to get rid of them and ship them to California.

The truth comes out and the truth is yes, a trip to California was planned, but, as a reward for the reindeer. Christmas is saved.

One of the songs in the program is “Words Can Hurt,” which in part states, “Words can hurt, be careful what you say. Try to think before you speak. There is a better way … Our words have power, maybe good or bad. Sometimes our words can make somebody sad.”

Remember the old saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Boy was that ever wrong. Sure, adults told children that so they would not care about what others said, specifically bullies. Ignore what they said and it will not hurt was the theory.

But that is not how it works.

There’s a line in the movie “Pretty Woman” that has always stuck with me as it seems to work more than the “sticks and stones” theory. Richard Gere’s character Lewis tells Julia Roberts’ character Vivian that she is a special person and Vivian responds “the bad stuff is easier to believe. You ever notice that?”

Maybe it is not easier to believe but it definitely seems to stick with us longer.

In “Reindeer Whisperer” Christmas is saved because the truth comes out about what Santa said and what his intentions were for the reindeer and the elves had to apologize for jumping to conclusions and spreading gossip.

So, what have we learned … just as the song says, think before you speak, because words do matter and what we say does have consequences, not just for us but for those around us. And we also learn, do not gossip as you may not know the whole story.

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We learned from the NFL recently that emotional outbursts (Patrick Mahomes after the Chiefs loss to the Bills Sunday) can be embarrassing and while you may try to apologize and backtrack statements later, in a world of social media those videos are out there for all to see. Some kids may see that and think that is no way to act. They may realize that is not showing true sportsmanship. However, others may see it and mimic the behavior if their team loses on a “controversial” penalty call.

We also learn from this to keep things in perspective.

Mahomes, in statements after the game said, “So it takes away from not only this game and this season but from a legendary career that Travis (Kelce) has had and that hurts me because I know how hard he works for it.”

Um, no. This one play will not take away from everything Kelce has done and will do in his career.

Perspective.

As a side note, people are upset about the offsides penalty being called because it negated a game-winning touchdown. They say it should not have been called. Referees do not wait to see what happens with the play and then throw a flag (most of the time). When the referee threw the flag for offsides he did not know the Chiefs would score a touchdown. Just think if a pass would have been incomplete, or if there had been a turnover or Mahomes had been sacked, we would not even be having this discussion.

Teams win, teams lose, that’s how the game is played. It is best if players accept this and keep things in perspective.

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Another thing we have learned from the NFL is to never give up, there is always hope.

Just because a team starts 0-4 and gets embarrassed on the field with a 70-20 loss it does not mean their playoff hopes are dashed.

The Denver Broncos are showing everyone that you never give up on your dreams. They are currently one game out of first place in the AFC West now with a 7-6 record. Just because things go wrong for a while does not mean they will not turn around and you can have success again. You just need to believe – through tough times and good times — after all, you cannot recognize the good times if you do not have any bad times.

Keep believing and keep fighting and never give up hope because you never know when things will turn around.

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We see the never give up and perseverance lesson also in country music and a pop/rock music this week.

Per KCRW and the Billboard charts, three women over the age of 70 reached milestones last week. Brenda Lee reached No. 1 on Billboard charts with “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in this the 65th anniversary year of when she first recorded it. Dolly Parton’s “Rockstar” album debuted at No. 1 on the top rock and alternative album lists. (Give it a listen it’s wonderful.)

The single “DJ Play a Christmas Song” from Cher’s first holiday album is topping Billboard’s dance/electronic chart.

Your success, or your new success could just be around the corner so do not give up. Keep working, keep trying and keep after your dreams.